"landmark recordings. . . essential" -The New York Times "Deeply moving" -Chicago Sun-Times '. :$"" " ': ." . j , ":.oI;o. .....::.i :c::..:. .............. .:.:.",\,.. . ..... . .. . . . . ...... ate IJIÌfôl('e , ., " 'S} ,'.;$,;',;:g =-:-"'\: .:," :4 t f, "'-. ' :.: =tf: , -- (0 '<. o. i 1" f . ' , i :":.;:::: . j' i . . :.;.:....:;-.:. 't, :". It THE COMPLETE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS 1955 & 1981 S3K 87703 PECIALLY PRICED DELUXE 3-CD SET A musical prodigy, who fired the public' s ir1agination wit 1 1 his idiosyncratic piano playing, Glenn Gould bracketed his career wit\ two legendary recordings of one of Bach' s greatest compositiops. This deluxe 3-CD set includes a bonus disc of interviews and studio outtakes which gives new insight into these historic recordings and the pianist who made therl. " ___ SONY ---.. L GACY "...., E "SONY CLASSICAL," "Legacy" and L Reg. U.S. Pat. &. Tm Off, Marca Rl..gislrada 02002 Sony Mu ie Entertainment Ine BORDERS@ BOOKS. MUSIC. MOVIES. CAFE .) , ' '; ; ' " THE NEW YORKER BOOK OF GOLF CAR TOON5 . \ "'- 15 More fun than a hole ill one! <D " . "" ...... (/), <( 0..: ..J... Q) J::J E o o ã5 o C\J @ ' I:$ ...l "-:,'." ç,:; ':; AVAILABLE WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD --...... \'"' .>4." Bloomberg PRESS www.bloomberg.com/books 84 THE NEW YORKER, DECEMBER 23 & 30, 2002 speare was looking to get the most dy- namic actors together under any cir- cumstance available, no matter how contrived. He was looking for superb exchanges of dialogue and fantastic mo- I ments, vertiginous possibilities for the English language, whereas Tolstoy lived for the sobriety of moral judgment. So he considered Shakespeare a monster who paid attention to causality only when it was use:fiù to him. Will's people do incredible things, fall in love and/or murder, usuallywith a minimum of prep- aration-Hamlet-and then deliver exceptional speeches that sear an au- dience's consciousness. To Tolstoy, this was monstrous. He must have looked at Shakespeare's plays the way some of us look these days on advertising campaigns that are stuffed with manipulation and li ttle else-catchy ingredients for the sole purpose of leading people astra But why Tolstoy would compare Che- khov to Shakespeare is another question. If there is a reason, I suspect it was for a different set of faults. Tolstoy may have felt that Chekhovwas a prelude to some- one yet to arrive, someone like Beckett. The people in Chekhov's plays were simply not doing what they ought to be doing. It had to irritate Tolstoy immensely that Anton's actors sat in their own spiri- tual excrement and made sweet speeches and moaned a little and sighed and groaned and never got out of any situa- tion. To Tolstoy, this was a cardinal sin. One should not live with the given if it is vapid or vaguely immoral. That was one of his most basic notions. One may have to endure a dreary state as a discipline, but one does not accept one's condition as eter- nal, as the meaning of life. Tolstoy could not permit that. Could not accept how Chekhov made so much of the essential inanition of the Russian middle class. A very young writer sits on a park bench with his girl. He kisses her. He's seventeen. He's never had such a kiss before. Later that night, he tries to capture the event. He writes: "I love you," he said. "I love you," she said. He stops, throws down hIs pen, and says, "I'm a great writer!" Sometimes you have to wait. .